Case Of Susan Smith Of South Carolina By Andrea Yates

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This chapter opens with the account of Susan Smith of South Carolina, and of Andrea Yates of Texas. In both cases, these women took the lives of their children. Smith strapped her two young sons into their car seats and drove her car into a lake. Yates drowned her five children in the family bath tub. Smith in particular paints a gruesome picture in my mind. As I read her story I can’t help but think of my two nieces, ages 4 years and 18 months, in that situation, struggling underwater until their bodies give up. This chapter begs the question: did Smith and Yates freely choose which actions to take? The idea of determinism makes me question everyday happenings and seemingly mundane choices I make. Does every event have a cause? It’s obvious …show more content…

Personally, I don’t agree with this school of thought in every situation. Take, for example, a mentally ill person who commits a crime as a result of that mental illness. His or her crime is no less a crime because of their illness or disability, but they are less culpable in my eyes because they may not have chosen that action or behavior. When you take into consideration determinism and free will, I don’t believe that either one is totally correct. Instead, it’s a mix of both. We make choices, which may or may not be influenced by other …show more content…

I’m a strong believer that young children should be limited from engaging in violent video games. It’s scientifically proven that the portion of the brain that controls judgment is not fully developed until a person’s mid-20’s, leaving young children, and even teenagers, impressionable. Knowing this, why would a parent allow violent video games, such as Call of Duty or Grand Theft Auto, to fall into the hands of their children? They see and take part in virtual murders, crimes, and drug consumption and are easily brainwashed into thinking these behaviors are acceptable. At the very least, they are desensitized to the violent and illegal nature of these video games. Replicating these crimes in the real world is enough to ruin their lives. Unless mentally ill, it is my opinion that the children are in some way culpable. The video game did not explicitly tell them to go out and kill, but it did influence them to. They still made the final choice to do

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